The Tea Lesson
by sissouthernink1994
Summary: One might say that Hetty Lange is a human encyclopedia. One might say that she is a force to be reckoned with, even that she has a tea fetish. Maybe she just likes to share the things she loves with the people she loves.
1. CCC Tea

The Tea Lesson

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: Los Angeles.**

**A/N**: Here is my first complete Fanfic and my first for NCIS: Los Angeles. I really like this show and one of the main reasons is Hetty Lange. She's so funny and her humor is so weird. But you know from the show if she was your boss you'd be in the hands of the most capable person on earth. My other reason is LL Cool J. He has been in the fine list since I saw his "I'm Bad" video when I was about eight. I had to do a bit of research for the tea portion of this fic. I don't drink hot liquids- no coffee no hot tea. Therefore, if you were to ask me about my favorite tea I'm going to say sweet tea, no lemon. That's what we southerners drink. My family up north always asks if I want ice. We don't ask for ice; it's just assumed that there is ice in the drink because the official title of the drink is iced tea. We just shorten it. We do have to specify if we want it sweet or un-sweet, lemon or no lemon.

I haven't seen too many stories about Hetty and I think there should be. She holds the team together. Therefore, I'm making my first contribution. If you like it, please review. Even if you don't like it, please review. Thanks in advance.

**Warnings**: T for a hint of slash. It may go somewhere later…not sure yet.

Chapter 1: CCC Tea

Operations Manager Henrietta Lange quietly surveyed the office and its surroundings. There was the familiar buzz of agents and an employees going about through the morning; this government agency was doing it's best to protect America and her people. The NCIS team, hand picked by herself for her reasons, was the best. Well, with the exception of Gibb's team in D.C. However, if there was a mock mission pitting team against team, she had no doubt that Gibb's team would be sadly sitting in the dust. Not that she was bragging, but she knew the best and she had them. _Perhaps I should give dear Jethro a call_, she thought, _and arrange_ _a "play date"._ She chuckled at the thought of Agent DiNozzo thinking he could out Callen, Mr. Callen. _Not_ _even with a Callen cheat sheet written by the man himself_, she thought as she turned to her desk to answer her phone.

After hours of phone calls and viewing reports, it was time for a break. She filled her electric kettle with water and set it on the base to heat. She preferred an old-fashioned kettle, heated on the stove. However, this was much more convenient. She began to peruse her tea selection, contemplating with her hands behind her back. What would be a good mid-morning treat?

White tea?

_Not at this time of day. I prefer that on spa days_.

Her hands landed on a silver box with a special blend, an oolong made especially for her. In her variety of teas, she had some that were for general use- just regular tea drinking. She had some that she kept for the sake of the history lesson that went with them. Then there were those that she had made or had chosen to share with each member of the team. She handpicked a tea for them just as she handpicked her team. This one in the box she had chosen for Dom. She had been drinking it the day he went missing; she was testing it out before she shared it with him. Hetty wasn't going to drink it again until he was found and they could share it.

Oh, how about this Masala tea?

This was an Indian blend sent to her from a friend who had recently moved to New Delhi.

_Not before lunch_. Before she reached out to make her selection, she heard the familiar sound of flip-flops on tile.

"Hetty, do you have a minute?"

"Ah, Mr. Beal, do come in." She gestured for him to have a seat. "What can I help you with today?"

"Well," Eric said. "I need some advice. And I guess I could have gone to Nate, but I don't want him to, think odd of me. Does that make sense?"

"Anymore than he probably already does? I suppose it does. What did you need advice on?"

"I need some advice on asking someone out."

"On a date? I should think you'd have plenty of practice on the art of asking women out, Mr. Beal."

"Women, yes…" Eric's voice trailed off and he somewhat shyly looked at the floor. Hetty made a now-I-understand expression with her eyes and she returned to her tea selection. She selected and placed the tea bag in the cup as the kettle signaled that the water was ready. She poured the hot water over the tea bag to steep it for a few minutes.

"And the person you wish to ask out?" Eric hesitated.

"He's…um…one of the team."

"I see."

"I know, I mean I've read the book about interoffice dating and everything and I'm not even sure I should be worried about anything you know? I mean he might not even like guys. On the other hand, maybe he does and just won't like me and I could just be getting myself worked up over nothing, you know? As far as I know he's not dating anyone but suppose he…"

"Agent Beal, you're rambling."

"I'm sorry. I just get a little nervous around him and when I talk or think about him. Sometimes even when I talk to him." Eric's cheeks and ears began to pink. As she prepared the tray, she was trying to deduct who had Eric's interest. _Who would have this poor young man so nervous? Agent Hanna perhaps? Perhaps it is Nate. He said he didn't want to talk with him about it. Would be rather awkward to ask for his advice and then use it to ask him out. _

"Tea." She said she placed the tea tray on the table between her two chairs.

"Oh, no thanks H..."

"It wasn't a question." She placed the cup in his hands and sat in the chair opposite from him.

"Thank you."

"I call this CCC Tea, known to most people as English Breakfast. I drink it to be calm, be clear and to concentrate. So who is this agent you so have your heart set on?" Eric swallowed hard and barely whispered,

"Agent Callen."

"You'll have to speak a little louder than that, Mr. Beal." Eric looked around, just to make sure no one else in earshot.

"It's Agent Callen. I want to ask him out."

"So why don't you? You are two consenting adults with lives outside of the office."

"Hetty, I can't just go up to him out of the clear blue and ask him for a date without knowing much about him." She sipped her tea.

"I thought that was the purpose of the date."

"Yes, I mean it is. But I need to know first if he is gay. There's no point for the date if he isn't. Do you have anyway way that I can creatively find out, without embarrassing myself if he isn't?" The Ops Manager sat back in the chair and pondered.

"You could ask the team. Maybe someone knows."

"Oh no I couldn't do that! It is too soon for _all_ of them to know."

"If the two of you began dating, then everyone would know." The fear on his face turned him pale and she thought that he might be right. "How about one team member? He and Agent Hanna are close. Perhaps he would know at least if Mr. Callen was dating anyone." Eric thought about it. Maybe Sam did know.

"Suppose Sam doesn't know. What do I do then?" He tried sipping more of the tea but it was having the opposite affect on him. He wasn't calm, his mind was nowhere near clear and fear most certainly kept him from concentrating.

"You may just have to ask him." Her phone rang. "Pardon me," she said stepping over to her desk and answering it. A few seconds later, she looked at Eric. "Mr. Beal, we will have to continue this conversation a little later. I must take this call."

"Thanks for the help so far Hetty," he said leaving her office. Before going back upstairs to command central he saw Sam getting a cup of coffee. He took a deep breath and decided to ask him the question.

"Hey Sam, you got a minute?"

"Yeah, what's up E?" he asked, stirring sugar into his mug.

"You and Callen are partners and I was wondering if you could tell me something about him." Sam raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"I'll try but your best bet will probably be to ask him yourself."

"I know, trying to make that my last resort. Two questions." Eric glanced around to make sure he was nowhere near but lowered his voice anyway. "First one, do you know if he's dating anyone?"

"Not that I know of." Eric breathed a sigh of relief. That means he had chance, maybe.

"Ok. That's good. Second question," his voice even lower. "Do you know if he's gay?" Sam gave him a look that Eric couldn't decide if it was shock, confusion or disgust.

"Wha...What? Is he gay?" The volume in Sam's voice rose. "What the world…"

"Shhh, please lower your voice." Eric said in panic.

"What in the world would make you ask that question?"

"Can't really tell you right now I just need to know."

"That one I can't really answer."

"Can't or won't?"

"Can't 'cause I don't know. I'm not sure I want to know either. You'll have to find out that one on your own."

"I figured as much. Can you please keep this between us? I don't need him to know I asked you."

"Secret's safe. Good luck finding out," he said, giving him a good luck pat on the shoulder. Defeated, he returned to the communications room.

About an hour later, Callen and Sam entered the comm room to wait for the video conference from an overseas ship. They were early, on purpose, Sam's suggestion. While Callen's back was turned to them, Sam nudged Eric to make use of the time and ask G what he needed to know. Eric violently shook his head. He mouthed I'm-not-ready-yet to Sam. He thought he was but was so afraid to ask. Sam shrugged his shoulders as if to say its-your-love life. Just then, Kensi joined them in the room with a stack of papers in her hand.

"Ugh. How hard can it be to pick a darn invitation?" They all turned to look at her as she dumped the papers on the table.

"Whose invitation for what?" G asked, sending shivers down Eric's spine.

"My cousin's wedding. She and her mother had a fight about color, invite size, envelope size, whatever. Her fiancé is a missionary working in Haiti right now and can't help her choose. So I'm stuck with the decision." They all looked what she had to choose from. "Plus they have a poem they want in the invite, along with the wedding and reception info."

"Do any of these colors match what the bridal party is wearing?" Eric asked.

"Yes, all of it."

"Wow, big spectrum." Sam said looking at two shades of red, two of orange, one pink, two shades of blue, and a one yellow.

"Is she going for a sunset?" Nate asked, joining the table.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Kensi replied. Eric took a plain white invitation and began to put something together.

"Try this, plain invite. A picture or drawing of sunset on the front. That should take care of most of the colors. Open it up and put poem here on left," He wrote poem in the inside left. "Wedding info here," he wrote that on the right side. "Reception info on the back of that page and gift registry across from that."

"I'm impressed Mr. Beal," Hetty said walking in. "Perhaps the CCC tea did you well." Eric shook his head.

"Not really." It was then Sam realized that Eric had gone to Hetty first to ask for advice on G.

"I'm impressed too. Thanks, Eric."

"I hope your cousin likes it."

"Who cares if she likes it? She told me it was my decision and I've decided I like what you created." Just then, the console let them know the video feed from the ship was ready for them to join. An hour and a half later, they disconnected and made plans on how best to start the assignment at hand.

"Well, I'll get started on the searches." Eric said.

"I'll help you with that when I get back. I have to drop this off at the printers. This was a great idea. Lunch is on me. What do you want to eat?"

"Where are you going?"

"I was thinking Dude's Deli."

"Oh, a California Turkey, please."

"Anything else?"

"Nope, that's good. Thanks Kensi."

"No, thank _you_ Eric." Sam and G left to check out the lead given to them by the ship's captain. Hetty went back to her office and Nate headed out to get lunch for everyone else. Eric was alone in communications. He had started his computers searching for information. He turned to look at the screens on the other side of the room and saw that Kensi left some of the sample invitations on the table. A thought came to him. Maybe the CCC tea did work, just a little delayed with him.

A little over an hour later, the team started filtering back in from various errands. Kensi came upstairs with Eric's lunch and to inform him of the lead she thought about while in line at the deli. G sat at his desk, an envelope with a "G" printed in the middle and a lollipop taped to the side of his initial was waiting for him. He curiously looked around.

"Did anyone see who left this on my desk?" He asked aloud. "And it's cherry, my favorite."

"Don't ask me. I was with you." Sam said, smirking to himself when he realized what the envelope could possibly be. None of the other employees around had seen anything. G opened the envelope and found a card with a picture of several pieces of candy on the front. He opened and found a poem inside.

_A confectioner feels joy surrounded by his creation of sweets,_

_But it pales in comparison of what I feel when our eyes meet._

_I would literally walk a mile_

_For a glance of your handsome smile._

_Each candy maker chooses his candy style to create,_

_An easier decision than asking you out on a date._

_Fear of rejection has kept me a bay,_

_Keeping me from what I want to say._

_Each night in my bed, I sigh,_

_Wondering if you will accept a date from this guy._

_However you decide, please leave me a note in empty locker 55_

G was at loss for words as he read the poem. He desperately looked around for who could have written it. More importantly, who knew his secret? Was it who he hoped it would be? He tried very hard to keep so much of his life to himself and the thought of someone he worked with wanting to share it was a bit overwhelming. Just then, Nate came in with lunch for the rest of them, but he was on his phone, telling someone he was on his way to his desk right then.

"Mr. Callen can you take Hetty her lunch please?" G nodded. He grabbed his own from the bag and was trying to deduct who could have left it. IT had to be someone who knew cherry was his favorite lollipop flavor. So that knocked down the number of people to Sam, Kensi, Eric, Nate, Dom, Hetty, and Deeks.

_Ok, so it's a guy asking. That knocks off Kensi the list. Dom is currently missing. Deeks hasn't been with us long enough. If Sam was with me, Nate was out getting lunch then who was left here? Eric! Eric? Eric wants to ask me out? I never would have thought it was him. Never. Never. _

He glanced up at the comm room and could see Eric and Kensi working and searching, wondering. He took their lunches, the envelope and almost ran to Hetty's office.

"Mr. Callen?"

"Nate's on a phone call and asked me to bring your lunch. Mind some company?"

"Of course not Mr. Callen." She said stepping over to the table where she and Eric sat before.

"Good. I can pick your brain about something then." She looked at his hand.

"Received an interesting piece of mail did you?"

"How, how did you know? Wait you saw you left this on my desk didn't you?"

"Perhaps", she said taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Better yet, you _know_ who left this. Come on Hetty, give me a clue."

"I will not. However if you want advice on how to approach the situation, I will be more than happy to help." G sighed and realized that he would have to take any advice any way she was going to give it.

Eric was eagerly waited the end of the day when he could go down and possibly check the empty locker without being seen. The team had been in and out of the comm room all afternoon after lunch and he only had a few chances to go to the men's room, not to the locker area. He was anxious but trying to not get his hopes up just in case the note didn't have the response he wanted or worse there was no note at all.

He waited until the team all left before he decided to leave. He looked around before opening the empty locker, just so no one would see him. There was a note. He held his breath. The note told him to go to The Wave at 7:30 p.m. The Wave was a little food joint he and other surfers liked to frequent when they surfed. He hoped it was a good sign that G was meeting him there and not someone else playing a joke on him. He rushed home to change clothes. It was still a date. _And Sam says_ _I don't wear pants, ha!_ he thought. He arrived in his flip-flops (he was still going to the beach) with just a few minutes to spare. He looked around and didn't see G. A surfer friend came to him and said someone was waiting for him on the porch side. He walked over to see G Callen with a large grin on his face. Eric almost turned around, too embarrassed to stay. G gently grabbed his hand.

"Hey Eric…wait don't go," Eric stopped and turned to look at G "What you did today was very brave. With all the stuff I do for work, and as brave as I think I am, I wasn't brave enough to ask you out." Eric was shocked.

"You wanted to ask me out? Don't play with me Callen."

"I'm not playing Eric and you can call me G. Come on, let's have dinner and watch the rest of the sunset. We have a lot to talk about." And G leaned over and kissed Eric's cheek. He blushed; wondering deep down inside how much Hetty knew about all of them and never said a word.


	2. The Stages of Hetty's Heartbreak

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: Los Angeles.**

**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed Chapter 1. This chapter is very paraphrased, mostly because I couldn't write everything fast enough. I also did one part as a flash back. I tried to follow the canon of three episodes from the first season entitled "Missing", "Found" and "Hunted".

Chapter 2: The Stages of Hetty's Heartbreak

"Missing"

She panicked when Eric told her there was an Agent Assistant Alert. Dom was undercover. He was good and getting better at his job. It seemed to come easy to him and with Callen's help, he was getting better. No one on the team could really pinpoint the exact moment things went awry except for Dom. Instinct is a large part of undercover work. The best assessment of the situation at hand comes from the agent living it. Even those listening in and watching can only imagine what is going on in the agent's head, can only imagine what that agent sees. An agent missing. She had several of those over the years and they had always been found. So would Dom. However, the heartbreak of the event happening, never got any easier.

"Found"

Two months. It had been an excruciating two months. They worked cases they didn't want to work because they had no choice. They had to be grown ups and realize that the world still revolved and crime didn't stop. If they had the chance to choose, those two months would have been spent looking for Dom. With two months of serious concentration, they would have found him and their team, their family would be whole again. Then the video came in. Dom was sitting in a chair, hands behind his back with a Jihad background behind his head. There was Arabic music playing and a black bag covering his face. His captors, who kept their faces covered, spoke Arabic. His face was beaten, dried and fresh blood all over, his left eye almost swollen shut. But he was alive! Dom was alive.

Hetty called in every favor she could, making threats, begging for help in some cases. She couldn't lose a team member. Each one was hand picked and was therefore extremely necessary for the team to function. They never gave up; she never gave up on finding him. They couldn't; Dom depended on them. She even had a Navy ship just a stone's throw away from the coast of Morocco, ready to assist. Their suspect led them to the Palace Theater, causing confusion. Kensi found the Jihad background and the chair from the video. More confusion. Hetty's stomach felt ill at the fact that Dom never left U.S. soil. He hadn't even left the city.

Mo had found some sense of compassion and had given Dom a key in his food. A key he used to unlock his handcuffs. He ran, right into Sam. They headed towards the roof and were ambushed. Hetty tried as much as she could to breathe normally. Just a few more minutes and he would be safe; they all would be safe. Her breath quickened at the crack of rapid gunfire. Her whole body stiffened, anxious for her agents to be safe. _Where is that damned helicopter?_ Then she heard those five dreaded words, agent down, repeat, agent down. _Which agent?_ _Which agent? Why is no one answering?_ She could hear Sam's voice, asking Dom to stay with him. She could tell he was performing CPR. _Oh, my God. It's Dom. Please God we just found him. _Then silence, broken only by Eric's voice asking what was going on. The sad and vacant reply from Callen was "Dom's gone". The shock travelled through the team. Callen and Sam first, because they were sitting right next to Dom. Kensi, next as she was sitting at the top of the stairs leading down to the roof. Then the Nate and Eric in the comm room. Hetty's heart dropped into her stomach. She could barely breathe and nearly stumbled out of the room. _No,_ _not Dom. We just found him. We__** just**__ found him! _She tried to make it to her office but her knees wouldn't let her. It took all the strength she had to just hold on to the wall.

The building was quiet as her agents returned from the field. Oh, it was full of people, but the other employees had realized what had happened on the rooftop. They were stunned, shocked. Although most didn't know Dom, some not even sure if they had ever seen him in the building, they showed respect for the team he worked with. They showed respect for the man he was, the job he did and how he died still protecting his country.

Sam and Callen reviewed what footage Eric could bring up but it was useless. The same conclusion was reached; nothing more could have been done. They did what they could, while they could. Dom knew as he felt his life leaving him that his team came for him, they never gave up their search. And now he could rest in peace knowing that he died in the presence of friends, a family like no other, instead of a Jihad camp where no one cared or knew his name.

The hour was late and Hetty had talked to enough people; she was tired of talking. Director Vance, other agencies, news crews. The most important call she'd made all day, next to the ones she made to help in the rescue was to Mr. and Mrs. Vail. She had only made this call one other time, to Agent Sullivan's family. Somewhere in the government agency she worked for was someone who did these types of calls all the time. She couldn't see how they did; this one was tearing her up inside. This is one part of the job she hoped she would never get used to doing.

As she walked into the bullpen area, she saw the sad, tear-streaked, heavy shoulders of her team. She didn't even have the strength to comfort them. Callen handed her a folder, everyone's reports on the day's events. His was finished and on top, unusual for him. He hated paperwork. She sighed and prayed for some words to say.

"Today was tough. There's no need to sugar coat it. We did what we could. My prayer is that if you ever have to experience any days like this again, that they are few and far between. Non-existent is the best-case scenario. I've spoken with Mr. and Mrs. Vail. They have thanked us for what we did do. They will be arriving sometime tomorrow. I will work with them on arrangements for Dom. There will possibly be a viewing on Friday and services on Saturday. Please check your e-mail. Now, today has been the Monday from hell. Go home and I don't want to see any of your faces until Thursday. Understood?" They all nodded yes and started packing their things to go home. "Good night."

When she arrived home, she thought of what tea she could drink to soothe her nerves, release the stress of the day. There was none. However, there was a gentleman by the name of Jack Daniels from Lynchburg, Tennessee, who did invite her to relax. And she cried as she did so.

"Hunted"

_First, there was Agent Sullivan in 1999 and now Agent Vail, 2010. Some would say only losing two agents in a career is stellar, a worthy achievement. Even in eleven years, is a feat to be envied. I say that's two agents too many. I know what I must do. There is no exception. It breaks my heart, but it must be done. _Operations Manager Henrietta Lange reached into her desk drawer and pulled out an envelope.

"This isn't over Hetty," came the words from Director Leon Vance.

"I'm afraid it is for me Leon." she replied, walking away.

There was no way Vance was going to accept her resignation letter. Was there blame to put on for this incident? Probably. Was it all to be put on her? No. There was plenty to go around and not all of it belonged to NCIS. The fact that the U.S. Army had the prisoner that the terrorists wanted and told no other agencies was a huge one. The greedy LAPD officer was another. He always had faith in her team, just like he did Gibbs's. Sure, both teams' methods were a little unorthodox and scary at times, but the job was always done and as close to the rules as possible. He knew the LA team stepped up its game when Dom went missing. He knew they would find him. Moreover, they did and they rescued him. What he wouldn't give for all of his teams to be that good.

Hetty was in her office, packing things into boxes.

"This is unacceptable."

"Why not? An agent died on my watch and I should take responsibility for it."

"This is the same letter you gave me when Agent Sullivan died. All you've done is change the name and date." She sat behind her desk and looked at the NCIS director.

"I choose, I asses, I train. I invest time, stock and heart and they die. They die." She sighed.

"Two Hetty. Two have died."

"Leon, I'm not cut out for this job. I just happen to have the capacity for it."

"Hetty, how long have we known each other?"

"Too long."

"Then you know that if I ever thought you weren't capable to doing this job- this choosing, training and assessing- that you would have been replaced a long time ago? People like you and Gibbs make your positions incredibly hard to fill. I hope I die before either of you so the headache of finding your replacements will belong to someone else. Besides, there's plenty of blame to go around."

"I know and I'm accepting my part."

"And where are you going to work? This is your life. This is what you do."

"I don't let the death of one person determine my occupational desire."

"But you are." He said.

A little while later Callen came into her office, or the chaos that was now her office. Hetty had been packing. She was putting away tea sets and books in boxes. Things were in stacks and piles, ready to be put away.

"Mr. Callen?"

"If you think you're the only one responsible for Dom's death, get in line. It starts behind me and Sam." He turned and walked out. He sat at his desk remembering the conversation he had with the director earlier. Vance had showed him the envelope. Callen guessed it was her resignation. It wasn't fair for her to give it.

"You think she really wants to resign?"

"Do you?" Vance asked, looking at him. The agent shook his head. "She's being the good leader, taking responsibility. She keeps things so close to her vest."

"Yeah. She sews them into her vest and covers it in Kevlar." They both chuckled, watching the employees work. "This place would fall apart without Hetty."

"That it would Agent Callen. That it would."

Hetty looked around the NCIS office. She would miss the hustle and bustle. She would miss the antics of Agents Hanna and Callen, the swift computer skills of Agent Beal. She would miss the talks with Nate and she would miss Kensi, the lone agent lady who was most definitely a force to be reckoned with. She would suggest finding another female agent to replace Dom. Ultimately it would be left up to the new Ops Manager. And the team. She returned to the office to finish packing and G Callen walked in holding a bottle of liquor and two glass tumblers.

"How about a drink to your pending retirement?" He asked, sitting in a chair in front of her desk. He opened the bottle and poured them both a drink. "I gotta say Hetty, I'm going to be jealous." He sat back in the chair. "You get to sleep in late and go on long lunches with your friends. Canasta."

"Director Vance already has my letter." She said.

"What letter? You mean this one?" He said waving the envelope around. "Umm, not anymore."

"Did he give it to you?"

"No, not exactly." He handed it to her. She took it and placed it back into the drawer.

"Thank you Mr. Callen."

"Now, if anything should happen to me Hetty," she gave him an evil stare. "Hetty, if anything should happen to me, I need you to grant me two requests."

"And what would that be?"

"Make sure someone takes care of Eric, if we're still together and don't you dare give the director, Vance or otherwise a resignation letter. I won't let you or anyone else take the blame and torture yourself like we have been for the past few weeks."

"Put it in writing and I will make sure it will be followed." They each raised their glass and toasted.


	3. Tea Time

**Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS: Los Angeles**

Chapter 3: Tea Time

It had been a few weeks since Dom's service and the team was functioning, barely. Every mission found the team not only working harder but smarter. They seemed to try to be more in tune with each other, to anticipate each other's moves and thoughts. They tried to let each other into their thoughts. Nate taught them a trust exercise. He even had Deeks sit in. He was just a liaison, but they all needed to be able to read each other. Hetty's reminder to them was that they didn't need to be scared to do their jobs, just more cautious.

It had also been months since they had spent any bonding time together. Almost five now. They didn't go anywhere while Dom was missing; they didn't want to take the chance of being inebriated and trying to sober up if any new info came up. So she suggested it at the morning briefing.

"We haven't had a bonding experience in a while and I think we should do something together this weekend. So I want you to think about it and give me your ideas, ok?" There were a few groans. "You can choose or I will choose for you." When they couldn't choose, they often ended up at a karaoke bar.

"No offense, Hetty, but I'm not the mood for beer and bad singing. Well, the beer might not be so bad." Sam said.

"Think about it and get back to me."

It had been two days and not one suggestion had been made. They needed to get away and bond, laugh, make fun of each other, anything to bring back the smiles from before four months ago when Dom first went missing. Hetty had to agree with Sam; she didn't feel much like karaoke either. She was sitting at her desk with a cup of orange pekoe tea and a thought came to her. She let he fingers do some searching on the internet and then placed a very important call.

Friday afternoon and it was about time for everyone to go home. They had all had a pretty quiet day. Mostly paperwork and tying up loose ends. Hetty thought she'd try one more time to get a suggestion out of them before presenting a clue to her surprise.

"So, what are our plans for tonight?" No one said anything. "Shall we go for Chinese? Pizza and beer?" They all just kind of sat there. "I figured as much. Therefore, I will leave you to your devices or vices, whichever you prefer, for tonight. However, Sunday afternoon I will see all of you at 1:45 p.m. in the lobby of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. We will then go to the Rendezvous Court together." She passed out little slips of paper with the address on it. "Everyone should be properly dressed. Mr. Beal, no shorts or flip-flops. Mr. Callen, no jeans. Gentlemen, you should be a suit and shirt. Tie optional." Deeks kind chuckled. "This includes you too Mr. Deeks. You are a part of our team as well. Ms. Blye, a dress or skirt will do nicely. Please make sure you are on time. Parking will be scarce the closer you arrive to 2 p.m. Until Sunday afternoon." She smiled and walked out to her car.

"Wonder what's going on?" Nate asked.

"No jeans?" Callen asked.

"No flip-flops either." Eric said. Sam shook his head.

"Just wear nice decent clothes guys. Millennium Biltmore. Must be something special."

Sunday afternoon

Hetty peeked inside the dining room of the Rendezvous Court. Everything was set up according to her request. She was pleased and she knew the team would be surprised. She hoped it would be a pleasant one. She walked into the lobby and saw that nearly everyone was there. The only exceptions were G and Eric. However, before she could start to complain, they walked through the door dressed as gentlemen. Now she was the one impressed. The Maitre D' came over to them.

"Ms. Lange, your table is ready."  
"Thank you, Franklin."She turned to the team. "Shall we?" They followed her into the dining room. Everything seemed so ornate and overwhelming. Dainty and untouchable, were the words that came across G's mind. Franklin led them to their table and they all sat. He pulled Kensi's chair out for her. The table was curved, like a mezza luna, covered with a lace tablecloth and a sky blue one underneath it. Each table setting had a teacup, a saucer, and silverware wrapped in a napkin. In the middle, where Hetty was standing were several teakettles, matching the cups. On the other end of the dining area, they could see other people being shown to their tables.

"Well, I was trying to think of something we could do together and I realized that we have never had tea together. We have one on one from time to time in my office, but nothing like what we will experience today. Here at the Millennium Biltmore, afternoon tea has been served since about 1924; a year or so after it was built. The tradition of afternoon tea, started in the 1800s, Victorian times- by the Duchess of Benford. Lunch would normally be served around noon and dinner later at night around 8 p.m. The Duchess decided she needed to eat something in between the times. And we have what developed into our afternoon snack. If you think about it, we usually have caffeine and something sweet or salty. This is exactly what we will have today."

"Ah, food." G whispered.

"Yes, food." She said. "I'll get to that in a minute. I know many of you wonder why tea is so important to me. It's an excellent way to start the day, or end one for that matter. It's a great pick me up. In the south, it's a staple like grits, fried chicken and lemonade. The best sweet iced tea I ever had was in this restaurant in Atlanta. There are teas to match your mood. Most people know that Chamomile is used as a natural sleep aid. Green teas have become a part of the health craze it the past few years. Blends are made all the time, fruit teas are popular. There are so many benefits from drinking teas and so many uses. You'll find them in your goodie bags when you leave." Everyone's eyes lit up and the possibility of a gift. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.

"The food Mr. Callen. Traditionally, it was scones, pastries and mini sandwiches, called tea sandwiches. Only served at tea time."

"What's a scone?" Deeks asked.

"Ah, British and American cultures have different names for the same thing. For example, what we call potato chips, they call potato crisps. What we call fries, they call chips. What we call cookies, they call biscuits. The closest thing they have to what we call a biscuit is a scone. Scones can be dense or extremely flaky. They can be made plain, sweet or savory."

"Ok, makes sense."

"Pastries served can include cookies, mini cakes, petit fours, and muffins. Traditional tea sandwiches are cucumber, salmon and maybe a chicken salad or some sort."

Hetty began to turn over everyone's blue flower teacups. She then took the silver box from her office and placed it on the table. Everyone recognized it from looking at her tea selections. Now, they would find out what was in it. She placed a bag in everyone's cup and filled each halfway with water.

"I know you know that tea is important to me. And when something is important to me, I like to share it. This is why you are always welcome to join me for a cup of tea. And it must be a cup. Tea should never be sipped from a mug. Those are for coffee. You are also welcome to come in and take some tea back to your desk. I have blends from everywhere. My friends and family send them to from everywhere. I have a place here in the city that will make certain blends for me. Which is what is in your goodie bags. And in my office. I have a blend made for each of you, according to your personality." They were impressed. "None of them tastes like the other. Each is unique, as you are. Each has it's own name. I guess I will need to label them in the office so each of you can find them. And you are welcome to share; I hope that you will."

She took a deep breath and closed the silver box.

"This blend was the one I had made for Dom." Then everyone at the table seemed to take the same deep sigh. "I was drinking it, the day he went missing. I was testing the blend out so to speak, before I shared it with him. It's an oolong tea. Oolongs are considered the finest teas in the world. They are sometimes ranked like champagne. It is part Taiwanese and it doesn't have a long oxidation period. The flavor of most oolongs you'll find is floral and fruity, with a hint of smoky peaches. If you've ever had grilled peaches, you would know the flavor. It's very sweet, no need to add sugar at all. This particular blend has hints of ginger, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and raspberry. The mere scent of it reminded me of the day I met him. I don't really know what was in the air at the time, but this reminds me of the day and I asked him about NCIS. And I smelled it again the day he joined us. Maybe a scent from God Himself. After his disappearance, I vowed not to drink it until I could drink it with him. I didn't get that chance.

What I discovered by testing the blend first was that the longer I let it steep, the sweeter it became and then there was the kick. Not a ridiculously spicy hot kick, like a habanera, but a sweet heat…like"

"Like a strong peppermint that tickles your nose?" Eric asked.

"Something like that. It reminds me of our situation. Tea is basically leaves, but they are useless until they are picked and processed. The drying and oxidation is a waiting period. The full realization comes when the hot water is added and the transformation is complete. The longer the tea steeps the stronger it gets. We have been picked for a certain purpose, gone through a difficult transformation, and we have been stewing in sadness and grief longer than we would like. But we will be stronger for it. We are all stronger because we got the chance to know Dom. And life is sweeter because we got the chance to be there for him and he for us. I miss him too. We will never know what his full talents could have been. But we did get a glance, and I thank God that we did. Perhaps he now has the most dangerous assignment of watching over us and trying to keep us safe." Everyone chuckled a bit.

"I have no doubt that he will follow through." G commented. The team nodded in agreement.

"You can now discard your tea bag, on the side of your saucer. Now if you will, please join me in a toast to our dear Dom." Everyone raised their teacups. "To NCIS Special Agent Dominic Vail- for your quietness, your technique, your skills, your bravery, strength and gentle spirit, your love for family and country- may God Himself grant your reward and rest."

Some replied "Here, here", others "To Dom" as they sipped the tea, made just for him. As they finished the teacups were reunited with saucers. A waiter came to remove the blue flower cups replacing them with white ones with a blue rim. He replaced the teakettles with hotter water.

"There are a variety of teas here in the basket and here…" Two waiters brought the tiers, two filled with sandwiches, and the other two with sweets. "are our treats." One waiter then placed two large salad bowls with tongs on the table, the other set out two sets of plates. One for salad, the other for the treats. Each team member selected their own tea and set out to enjoy their lunch with the Ops Manager.

As they ate, Hetty continued to educate the team on proper tea etiquette, teakettles, oxidation techniques, types of tea, teacups and other purposes for tea. By the end of the afternoon, each team member was glad that Hetty had chosen this place for team bonding. It was different and something they needed.

The team was excited to see what was in their goodie bags. Each bag contained other uses for tea, tea soap, their own special blend, and a coupon to the Tea House. This was Hetty's favorite place for blended tea. The most unexpected item was a hand written thank you note from Dom's family. Dom had talked to his parents about his teammates and they personally thanked each person for being a part of his life and never giving up hope on finding him. Perhaps that was the most cherished item in the bag.

Hetty wondered as she watched the team leave and go home, if she would ever tell them why she picked them and how. It was her secret. She'd always had her secret way to choosing, training and assessing. Similar to how she chose her tea. Both were propriety as far as she was concerned. And if she ever did tell anyone, she would probably have to kill them.


End file.
